CHAPTER FIVE
~ Okay, Izzy, what are you going to do now? He’s living with you. You have just accepted this guy into our lives. What is your next step?

~ I will bring him to his knees if it’s necessary. I have to make him a little stable. We saw what he did when he first came to the bar. The only way to make him stable is to push him to his limits. Or at least try to do it. I’m not scared of him. I know what I’m doing.

“Are you really worth of all this?”

“What?” Bucky mumbled from his dream, his face frowning a little. Did that voice come from the dream or not? Was it even talking to him? He got his answer in a minute when something dropped on his stomach. It wasn’t heavy, but it was unpleasant and shocking. He opened his eyes and took a deep breath, founding a person standing above him. His sight was a little blurry, but he came to it very quickly. He knew who was there.

“Wake up,” Izzy said strictly, arms folded over her breasts. She was wearing a black hoodie, black mid-thigh workout pants, and black sneakers. The girl’s favorite color must have been black. Her hair was already braided in a reverse French ponytail. Her face was without a grain of makeup and she still looked dangerously pretty. “Pack sportswear and things for showering,” she ordered, her voice not changing a bit.

The brunet was confused and sat up, holding a black bag in his hands. That was what fell on his body. “What time is it?” he yawned, blinking his eyes.

“Five in the morning,” she answered his question. “And you have five minutes to get ready. I’ll be waiting outside for you. Hurry up. We have so much to do today,” and she just turned around on her heel, leaving the man alone in the apartment. Izzy wasn’t in the mood for many questions, waiting or probably living in general. Her mood was a bit grumpy.

The man stood up, stretched and quickly went to the bathroom where he took things for hygiene and a towel. He hurriedly took a look at his reflection in the mirror. His longer brown hair was falling on his face and he had dark circles under eyes. Once he was back and fully dressed in casual clothes, he put some work-out clothing in the bag with the rest of the things and after locking the apartment, he ran down the stairs. He had no idea what was happening, why he had to wake up that early. His mind was a mess and he was only awake for a few minutes. Once again, he had nightmares, showing him the darkness and the devil’s dark eyes. It was haunting him, even intimidating him. Were they only dreams or a hidden past?

“Were you talking to me before I woke up?” he asked when he finally approached her, eyes scanning on the surroundings. It was still dark outside, there were no people and Izzy looked a little relaxed. She was deeply inhaling the fresh air and her fingers were playing with the ends of her braided hair. Bucky found a small bag hung on her shoulders.

Her eyebrows kinked. “No?” she gave him a weird look and started to walk down the street. The man was instantly following her. “Now, I’m going to tell you the plan for today,” she started a conversation. “Since you are a part of my group, you are going to listen to me and since you will work for me – let’s face it, you have no other option – you need to stay fit. This morning, I will show you my favorite gym where we are going to train together. Later, after a shower and some food, we have to go to The Raven where the rest of the group is waiting for us.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he replied neutrally.

They were quiet until they came to an old building. It looked like a gym; build probably in the 1960’s. She took out a bunch of keys. One of them belonged to the lock of the main entrance. Together, they went inside and Izzy locked the door behind them. Subsequently, she turned on the lights by switching on the snapper. Bucky’s nose smelled dust and mold. There was a hallway, leading to a wooden two-way door. The place looked like the one back in Hydra. It was a scary place, full of painful moments and memories. He sighed and looked at his feet, clenching both fists.

“The man’s changing room is on the left,” she pointed at the nearest door to him. “Get ready. I’ll be waiting for you inside.”

~ Izzy, do you think that is a good idea? What if he really hurts you? He’s the fucking Winter Soldier.

~ Rick, believe me. I’m ready for injuries, blood, and bruises. I know he’s strong, but is strength enough? This is nothing comparing of what’s coming. And I told you at the very beginning when you met me, we are in great danger.

An hour later, after both of them warmed up, each on the other side of the gym; Izzy went into the middle of the room, where she stood on a mat. She was barefoot, only wearing the work clothes. The hoodie was long gone and she was only wearing a black sports bra. She saw Bucky’s face when she exposed her body a little. His eyes were fixated on her and the man was barely breathing. “Come here,” she said out loud, her voice strict. Her tongue licked her lower lip and she looked at her feet, both hands putting on her sides.

Bucky was holding dumbbells in his hands when he heard her voice speaking to him. He slightly grunted, putting the dumbbells back to their place right under the massive mirrors. Before he could follow the woman, a noise came from the other side of the gym. One of the old lamps unexpectedly broke down, cracking like a glass. The man winced a little and dryly gulped. His fists were again clenched and he was ready to fight if necessary. He stepped on the mat; the flesh dexterous digits were combing his longer hair behind his head. They were already sweaty from the workout just like his whole body.

“We are going to fight together as a part of our training,” she said after the man stopped in front of her. “Now, the most important thing – don’t hold back.”

“But…”

“No,” she cut him before he could complain. “I don’t want to hear anything like that, especially not from you. You are the Winter fucking Soldier, am I right? Or am I wrong?” She put her hands behind her back and looked him in the eyes. “Show me what you got, soldier and don’t be afraid. I’m not made of porcelain. Come on,” she smirked at him, “I dare you to punch me. Don’t be scared. ”

The man playfully rolled his blue eyes and laughed a little. “I’m not scared.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” she mocked him. “Are you afraid to hurt a girl? What if I am a traitor? What if I work for the police? What are you going to do, soldier?” she was still speaking to him, trying to boil his blood, but not much.

“Sweetheart, if you are trying to piss me off, I have sad news for you,” he winked at her, preparing his body to attack her. “You need to be more creative. Maybe it is way too early for you and you can’t think of any good insult. Your brain is not properly working,” said his sassy mouth.

“If I were you, I would watch my mouth, Barnes.” And now she had him. She slowly showed him her perfect white teeth in a victorious smile. That name changed the expression on his face. His jaw almost dropped on the floor. How did she know his last name? He never mentioned it. In a second, he was after her. His mind wanted new answers. He longed for it so much; he was willing to do anything to get them – even beat the shit out of that woman. Bucky’s metallic arm shot out forward, trying to hit her. It would have been a hard punch, but Izzy took a step back, grabbed his metallic wrist and without using strength, she pulled him down. A loud thud was heard in the gym, mixed with grunting and growling. The raven-haired woman started to play with her fingers, looking like she didn’t even make a move.

Bucky pushed his body from the mat and stood up. A tear of sweat was running down his forehead. His face made a shocking expression. “What the fuck was that?” he had to ask, not believing what just happened. “You are fast.”

“I’m not fast,” she replied and put both of her hands behind her back again. “Are you sure you are the Winter Soldier because all I see is a fucked up man who can’t punch a girl,” she smirked a little, eyes locked on his face.

“The last time I attacked you, I almost choked you with my hand,” he reminded her the day they met in the pub. The girl only rolled her dark eyes. “Now seriously, Izzy, are you testing me? What was that supposed to be? And how did you know my last name?”

“Too much talking while fighting, no?” her eyebrows lifted up and she came closer to him. “Come on, soldier, I know you can do much better than this. Now,” she tapped his shoulder and moved behind his back. “Today, you have to defeat me – that is your only task. I may be a girl, but I know how to fight and how to defeat myself. Can you fight too?”

Bucky slowly turned to her. Was she underestimating him? “I had a rough training in the past. I know how to fight,” he growled, his face frowning. “Will you be able to survive?” Without any warning, he tried to attack her one more time. This time, he was focused on her actions and predicting her moves. His plan was to put her on the mat and interrogate her, if not kill her. There was a high possibility she knew something about him, that this wasn’t a coincidence. He put his full strength into the punch. Once again, Izzy only took a step back and with an easy move, he ended on the mat, shocked. “Fuck!” he snarled loudly. The fact he couldn’t attack her was frustrating him a lot. Before Bucky could stand up, Izzy quickly jumped to him and kick the man in the back, making him fall on his stomach.

“Just look at you,” she started talking, her voice being intimidating. “Being beaten by a girl,” she giggled. Her hand grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head backward. “Tell me who you are, soldier.” Izzy slapped his face with her free hand. “Tell me, what do you want?”

Bucky took an opportunity and his metal hand wrapped around her ankle, shoving her down on the mat with an angry moan. His blood was now boiling, just like she wanted. There was no going back. His chest rising and falling, his teeth were gritted and he only wanted to punch her back, so she would finally shut her damn mouth. “I don’t have to tell you anything!” he screamed, immediately scrambling on her body and pinning her hands down next to her head. He thought he had her. The girl wickedly smiled at him, showed her white teeth and with a very easy move, she got rid of him. She did it before Bucky could sit on her waist. Her legs wrapped around his torso and she rolled him down, changing the position. Now she was the one sitting on him. Even when he was still tightly holding her wrists, Izzy managed to turn her hands, using her strength and rip them off from his grip. They were like two children, fighting. With a side of her right arm, the girl hit him in the neck, making him choke a little. Now, she had some time to quickly stand up.

“What’s the matter, boy?” she asked him, catching her breath a little. “Are you going to whine like you are doing every night?” she mocked him. “Are you having bad dreams, boy? Do they make you cry and sob?” He slowly sat, fingers gently caressing his throat. “If you want to work for me, you need to get better at this.”

He wasn’t responding. The blue eyes were full of rage and the only thing that was stuck in his head was to beat her badly. Bucky was looking at that sassy face, ears registering every word she said. He got up, tongue licking his lower lip. “Do you really want to know who I am?” he said darkly, deeply inhaling the unpleasant smell from the gym through his nose.

“Go on,” she teased him. “I dare you.”

With that, another fight started. Bucky’s rage was higher than the tallest building in the USA. His metallic hand made a noise when he clenched it into a fist. Using the hidden strength, he tried to punch the girl, but once again she dodged it. This time, he only hit a pillar made of stone that was right behind her. He made a hole into it. He wasn’t waiting for her actions. Bucky quickly turned around and started a fight like he used to do back in the time. He was fast, strong and his metal arm gave him an advantage. Izzy was pretty shocked by his sudden moves. “I am the Winter Soldier!” Bucky screamed and tried to hit her once more. This time, he punched her in the ribs. Izzy painfully groaned. “I can kill you with my bare hands,” he continued, kicking the woman, but she luckily blocked it. She used one opportunity and caused him a monocle with a fist. When Izzy managed to kick him, he cleverly grabbed her by an ankle and struck back, throwing her on the mat. “People like you are my mission,” he hit her right in her nose and it immediately started to bleed. “You are my enemy. I have to kill you,” he growled, pinning her down. His metallic arm gripped the woman’s throat. His mind was somewhere else. Like it wasn’t the Bucky she brought to the gym with her. This was someone else – the Winter Soldier.

“Bucky,” she whispered, not able to breathe. It was only a matter of seconds. She had to decide what to do. There was one way how to get away from his grip, but it was too early to show him. And so she waited. “Bucky,” one of her hands rested on his metallic arm, the other gently touched his face full of rage. When her fingers gently linked with his cheek, he stopped. Bucky suddenly appeared in his dream. It was like the one where he was training with the blonde girl back in Hydra’s base.

He came back to his mind. The man was breathing heavily, eyes wide open like he couldn’t believe what he had done. His lips were shaking. “Fuck,” he mumbled and pulled his hand away from the girl’s throat.

Izzy quickly took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. She put a hand under her nose and wiped out the blood. It was still hardly bleeding, but she didn’t mind it. This was exactly what she wanted. “Tell me who you are,” she whispered while opening her dark eyes that met his.

“I- I,” he hesitated. Now, he knew why she wanted to know it, why she was doing all of it. “I don’t know.”

“Yes, you know,” she said, slowly sitting up. She felt the drops of blood falling on her neck and sports bra. Bucky dropped on his ass and hid his face into the giant palms. “Take a deep breath and tell me who exactly you are.”

The brunet carefully looked at the black-haired sweaty girl, who was sitting opposite him. He did punch her really hard. “My name is James Buchanan Barnes, but they call me Bucky,” he finally answered her question. “That’s all I know about myself.”

“Good,” she nodded and slowly stood up. Her hands were all dark red from all the blood. “Why did you stop choking me?” that was another question she had. Her hands reached for his. Bucky looked at her, scared to even touch her. “It’s fine,” she impelled him. “Take my hands and stand up. I know you won’t hurt me now.” That was all he needed to hear. Bucky took her hands, not caring if they are from blood and with her help he stood up. He swiftly took off his sweaty shirt gave it to her, so she could put it on her nose. Neither of them had a napkin. “Thanks,” she nodded, eyes falling on his body.

Bucky was standing in front of her shirtless and he looked very good. He had muscles, firm chest, and stomach. The abs were beautifully showing off. She looked at his scars that he had from the metallic arm. They were slightly pink, but the one along the edge of the metal was visibly and still brightly red. There were other scars too, smaller one on his sides and on the flesh arm. The man was hot, even with them and the injuries, very sexy and really sweaty. Her dark eyes were glued on his body, not leaving anywhere. It was even better than a TV. “How did you-“

“How did I know this would happen?” she kinked an eyebrow, breaking the eye contact with his half naked body. “I had to deal with someone like you in the past. That person was totally crazy, very angry and had no idea what was happening in this world. It was a worse case than you are. Plus, the day we met, you showed us how unstable you actually are. You see, I am a bitch, but I do have a heart,” she giggled a little.

“So, you are trying to help me?”

“Yeah, we can say it like that,” she made a grimace.

“I could have killed you,” he breathed. “When you said my name, everything inside me changed. In fact, how did you know my name? I’ve never said it out loud,” he panicked. Was he losing his mind?

The girl tapped him on the right shoulder, smirking under the piece of sweaty, bloody shirt of his. “Internet and television, Bucky,” she finally answered his question. “I found some information about you – not a lot, but it was something. There is this museum and…”

“Yeah,” he said, interrupting her speech and nodding. “I’ve been there and I’ve read some information about me too. Oh, wow, for a moment I thought,” he stopped, thinking if he should continue or not.

“You thought what?”

His lips crooked into a small smile. “I thought you were from my past and that you might know some answers,” he sighed.

“How is it possible that you don’t know your past?” she had to ask and quickly looked at the piece of clothing. The bleeding was slowly receding. Bucky didn’t want to answer her question, so she continued. “Fine, Bucky, we have to go now. We have other plans to do such as meeting with Rick at the bar, buying new guns and preparing for our little trip.”

“One more thing,” Bucky stopped her before she could leave. “Those moves you did,” he took a deep breath. “What was it? You pulled me down with one easy move. You said you are not strong, but it felt like that. How did you do it?”

“I’ll show you, but all in good time, my friend. All in good time,” she patted his shoulder and with that, Izzy went to the lady’s changing room.

…

“Look who’s here!” Rick was sitting on a wooden chair, holding money in his hands and counting them. Next to his left arm was a bottle of opened beer. He was wearing dark jeans and a gray baggy shirt. His tattoos were visible to everyone now and Bucky could see them for the first time when he came to the bar with the black-haired woman by his side. “Bonnie and Clyde,” he laughed. “What happened to you,” he pointed at Izzy’s nose and Bucky’s eye. “Let me guess – wild sex?”

“No,” she rolled her dark eyes and sat in front of the man. “We had a training this morning. He made my nose bleed and I punched him in the eye,” a bright smile appeared on her face. Her legs were suddenly on the table, in front of Rick. Bucky took a chair from the next table and sat between Rick and Izzy, his back facing the stairs. He put off his black leather jacket and draped it over the headrest of the chair. He was wearing a dark green cap, but he left it on his head. “Tell me, baby,” Izzy continued and her eyes locked with Rick’s one. “Where’s the guy with our guns?”

“Patience, baby,” Rick smiled. “We are waiting for Trent. He should be here any minute. It’s his friend who’s giving us the guns for a good price.”

Bucky scanned Rick’s tattoos on his arms. There was a skull on flames, cross, some writing and a picture of a naked woman. The man wanted to stay forever young, he guessed. “Are you going to tell me details for the little trip you mentioned earlier today?” he asked the girl, eyes never leaving Rick’s tattoos.

“We’ll be going to Orlando in three days,” Izzy wickedly smiled and grabbed Rick’s beer. “One of my clients gave me a special mission for a lot of money. And a lot of money means an assassination of a concrete person. And that means there is a possibility we would have to assassinate more than one person if necessary.”

“Sounds dramatic,” Bucky yawned. “I’m in because I don’t have any other option, am I right?” he finally looked at the girl who nodded in agreement.

“Wow,” the old man laughed, “you two are becoming like best crime friends. I think I should be jealous,” he put a pile of money on one side of the table and started to count once again. “I hope you brought a lot of money, Iz. I’ve heard the man has something special for you.”

“I hope it’s a pony!” After her words, Bucky laughed a little. “I hope it’s going to be good. If not, I’m not giving him any extra money for his services.” Izzy put down her legs from the table and took a rubber band from her wrist. She needed to put her very long hair into a high messy bun. She didn’t braid them after she came back from the gym.

“Come on, Izzy. That guy is a pro. Don’t you worry, girl,” he smiled gently and looked at her. In a few seconds, her hairstyle was done and she looked differently. Some of the hair was still falling on the sides of her head. It looked good.

A sound of an opening door was heard while they were talking. Neither of them turned to the stairs, believing it was Trent who came to the bar with the guest. When The Raven looked at the entrance stairs, he saw two unknown men, wearing casual clothing and both of them were bald. The bartender took a deep breath and stopped counting the money. “We are closed,” he growled a little, frowning at the two uninvited guests. “The bar is opening at six today.”

Izzy got chills on her back. Her head was facing the bar, just like Bucky’s was. She didn’t dare to turn to the men. Something wasn’t right.

“We are looking for someone,” one of them said, strong German accent echoing in Bucky’s and Izzy’s ears. The man held his breath and the girl clenched her left fist. The other hand scratched her nose and put it on her thigh, near the case with a knife.

“Does this place looks like an Information booth?” Rick’s eyebrows lifted and check the men with his gray eyes. “Go to the bus station or the police if you need help.”

One of them took out a gun from behind his jeans and aimed at the bartender. He loaded it. “You have two options, old man,” he said. “Tell us what we want or you will die.”

“We are looking for a man – the Winter Soldier. You might have heard of him,” the second man said, looking at the two other people in the pub. “Not long ago, two of our men were here, asking you the same question. Once again, we received the information he was here.”

“First of all,” Rick crossed his arms over his chest, “I don’t work here every day.” That was a lie, “which means I don’t know if that man was here or not. Secondly, put that gun down. You may hurt yourself, boy.”

“What about the rest of you? Do you know the Winter Soldier? Have you seen him?”

The girl sighed and slightly turned her head to Bucky. She could see how nervous he was. They were looking for him and had no idea he was sitting right in front of them. There wasn’t much to do. “We asked you a question!” the other one yelled and put a gun right behind Bucky’s head. The barrel was touching the cap and he could feel the pressure of the weapon. The brunet wanted to react and start a fight. Izzy was quicker than him. She slowly stood up. Both of her hands were next to her sides.

“Are you ready to kick some ass, Soldier?” the raven-haired girl asked the brunet, wickedly smiling.

Bucky turned her head to her and grinned at her. “Indeed I am.” With a very swift and precise move of his metallic arm, he reached for the gun behind his head and ripped it out of the man’s hand. He threw the gun on the floor and quickly stood up. The girl took the other guy.

“Soldier! You are coming back to Hydra!” a man yelled in Russian now with a slight German accent.

“Never,” he mumbled angrily, kicking the man hardly into his stomach. “I’m never coming back.”
Rick stealthily stepped aside from the fight, trying to reach for his shotgun.

The black-haired girl used her moves on the other fucker. He was bigger than the other guy, but muscles didn’t mean strength. She twisted his right wrist and pulled him on the wooden floor. There was rage building inside of her. When the man had time to look into her face, his jaw almost dropped on the floor. “It’s you,” he said in German and she understood. His brown eyes found the dark, mysterious one. Izzy’s eyes changed. There were very unusual – the sclera and the irises of her eyes were totally black. She looked like a demon. “We found the lost jewel,” he gasped.

The woman grabbed him by his neck with both hands. The pressure of her hands was very strong. Before he could say anything else, she swiftly twisted his neck with a loud crack and he fell on the floor like a rag-doll. She had to kill him. There was no other option. Before she turned to Bucky and the other man, she needed to take a deep breath. Her eyes were getting back to normal.

When Bucky finally held the man in his hands, he frowned at him. “I’m done with Hydra.”

“You will never get out of Hydra’s tentacles,” the man continued in Russian. “You will always be part of Hydra. We own you,” and after he was done with his speech, he started to say random words. “Longing,” his voice was suddenly deeper, more serious. He looked into the soldier’s eyes. The brunet lost his breath and his eyes opened even wider. “Rusted,” the man continued and Bucky let him go.

“No!”

“Seventeen.”

“Stop!” he tried to plug his ears with palms.

The girl saw what was happening. The brunet slowly kneeled in front the man. He was panicking and he was scared. She took the gun from the floor and without thinking she stepped closer to the man. Before he could say any other word to Bucky, Izzy aimed at his right temple. “Eat that, motherfucker!” and a loud shot was heard in the bar. A blood squirted from his head, making a mess on the floor, on her clothes and some of it even dropped on Bucky’s hair and face. She swore there were parts of his brain lying on the floor and table.

“Fuck! That’s disgusting!” Rick yelled and almost puked into the sink behind the bar.

The Winter Soldier was still on the ground, shaking and holding his ears. He wasn’t able to register his surroundings. “Bucky?” Izzy came closer to him. “Bucky!” she touched his shoulder.

“No!” he was suddenly on his knees, attacking the girl. He grabbed her by the neck with his metal arm and pulled her up. Her legs were kicking in the air. “Leave me alone!” he screamed.

“Bucky…” Izzy gasped, barely breathing. “Put-me-down! Please! It’s me!”

“Izzy!” Rick was shocked. Once again, the soldier attacked his favorite girl. He was now aiming at the angry man with his shotgun, who acted like the biggest psychopath. “Put the girl down, boy or I’m going to shoot you down!” But he didn’t listen.

“Bucky…” her face was getting paler and paler. “Buck…” Still nothing. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

His baby blue eyes were looking into her face. There were moments when he wasn’t recognizing her. He was only holding a girl who was saying a name that he didn’t know. Those words made changed his behavior, his thinking. He took a deep breath and his eyes discovered a darkness slowly surrounding him. What was it?

“James.”

That name broke something deep inside of him. The voice, the name – that was his name and the sweet voice was singing in his mind, just like he heard it in his dreams. Before he could come back to reality the darkness almost fully absorbed him. His grip was suddenly without an object. Bucky opened his mouth and the last thing he could remember was a pain coming from his vertex.

Notes